Woman who faces cruelty charges says dogs attacked her

Published 7:00 pm, Saturday, May 16, 2009

A 57-year-old woman now facing misdemeanor charges for cruelty to animals wants her case heard before a jury, and she should get her chance next month.

Helen Barge, of Conroe, has told The Courier that she grabbed her .22 rifle and fired at a neighbor’s two dogs that made her fear for her life when she was knocked to the floor of her porch on Jan. 14, 2008. Neither dog was killed.

Barge wanted the dogs, which she said attacked her, declared as dangerous but the owner wanted animal abuse charges filed against Barge.

Several months later, Barge was facing formal felony charges of cruelty to nonlivestock causing serious bodily injury. But since the dogs were not seriously injured, Barge’s charge was dropped to a Class A misdemeanor of injury to animals, said William Pattillo, Barge’s defense attorney.

The charge is punishable by up to a year in jail and up to a $4,000 fine.

She was arraigned on the new charge Thursday morning in County Court-at-Law 3. Her trial is scheduled for June 22. Pattillo said they asked for a jury trial because Barge’s case is an issue residents need to address.

“It’s a case about how far must we allow potentially dangerous dogs to invade the right of humans to live without fear,” Pattillo said.

Barge has previously told The Courier that she continuously had issues with dogs running through her property. A pack of dogs killed the chickens and rheas she used to keep. She has said she called the Montgomery County Animal Control multiple times, but nothing was done.